The historic Bobs slug pick up lot will be closed for construction for about two and a half years beginning spring of 2020 (about March/April 2020). Bobs is where slugging began in the mid seventies by the Pentagon personnel to leverage the Shirley Highway when it opened as reversible lanes for HOV-3 during peak hours. Bobs sluglines survived several moves and disruptions. Still being one of the popular slug pickup location, about 650 commuters (425 riders and 225 drivers ) use the 14th street slug line and about 500 commuters (350 riders and 150 drivers) use the 18th street slug line. With a total of 672 parking spaces in four lots, for decades, they are full by 730 AM every workday. It is important to note that almost all commuters park at this log slug from this lot.

During construction Bobs slug lot will be closed, causing a loss of about 278 parking spaces and two slug pickup stations that currently operate at that location. The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) has identified alternative, temporary parking for the existing Bobs lot commuters until the new Springfield Garage is completed in the fall of 2022. FCDOT held a community meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20, to update Springfield commuters on temporary plans during construction. The meeting took place in the cafeteria of Forestdale Elementary School, 6530 Elder Ave., from 7-9 p.m. About 150 Springfield commuters attended the meeting. Presentation can be found here

Two slug lines currently operating at Bobs will be relocated to two separate temporary locations one month before construction as below.

14th, L’Enfant, Navy Yard, Union Station Slug line:

14th, L’Enfant, Navy Yard, Union Station slug line will be relocated to the Springfield Town Center Garage aka., Town Center where the slug pickup will be in level 1 and 800 parking spaces in level 2, 4 and 6. This parking is free and lot can be used today. Currently there is no sluglines, but there are about 300 riders park at this garage and walk to the Franconia – Springfield Metro. Commuters are encouraged to join Springfield Sluglines Facebook Group and Springfield Town Center Facebook Group to carpool, discuss issues, coordinate rides and backup plans.

18th Street Slug line:

18th to 23rd street slug line will be relocated to the Springfield United Methodist Church. The traffic pattern can be seen here.  We do not expect much disruption to this line but as you can see the numbers there are fewer drivers. With the new I-395 Express lanes we can expect more drivers to pick up slugs.

Meeting was attended by about 150 commuters currently using the Bobs slug pickup location, below are some of the discussion topics at the meeting. Other FAQs regarding the construction, closure and alternative parking can be found here

  1. Most of the drivers go to the west of bobs, will they be picking and dropping off riders at the new Springfield Town Center. It is on the drivers and riders to organize and coordinate rides to the Springfield Town Center. Commuters near Rolling Valley
  2. Will the county be providing shuttle services between Bobs and Springfield Town Center or to the 14th Street. The answer provided by FCDOT was that they have not plans at this point, but alternatively Fairfax connector 310 can be used for a fare of $2 using SmarTrip card. Route 310 connects Rolling Valley, Bobs and the new Springfield Town Center “Town Center” pickup location. Riders can also take Metro from Franconia-Springfield Station to DC.
  3. Currently all parking spaces at bobs fills up by 7:30 AM, is the 1000 spaces satisfy the future needs, that may add more riders using bus.  Answer from FAQ: The County intends to continue to lease the spaces near the lot once the garage opens based on concerns raised that the demand for the slug lines combined with the transit center may exceed the capacity of the garage. However, future leases are always contingent upon the property owners’ willingness to lease the spaces to the County.
  4. Will the move impact traffic around the Springfield Town Center during peak hours? The answer provided by FCDOT was, there is no traffic mitigation plan for the temporary relocation.
  5. Will our vehicles be secured at the Springfield Town Center and will the overnight parking and mall costumers take leased spaces for commuters? FCDOT response was, security is provided by the mall. Overnight parking and customer parking will be handled on case by case basis. Commuters can always call The Fairfax County Department of Public Safety Communications Non-Emergency phone number is (703) 691-2131 / TTY (703) 877-3715

Commuters are asked to provide feedback to officials online here or email DOTInfo@fairfaxcounty.gov. Commuters discuss, coordinate rides and provide status at Springfield Slug Lines Facebook Group and Springfield Town Center Slug Lines Facebook Group.